Congratulations Taylor! Our Learn for Life Student of the Week!

Local Author of Baby Mouse at Green Bean Books this Saturday

Come and see bestselling
Babymouse
graphic novel illustrator
Matthew Holm
share his new book
Babymouse,
Cupcake Tycoon
at Green Bean Books!

Matthew Holm will demonstrate his amazing drawing talent and hold a creative, interactive drawing session with kids!
He will also sign his books and answer questions about his work.
This spectacular event will be held on Saturday, January 29^th at 2:00pm.  Call to reserve a spot, 503-954-2354!

 Green Bean Books
1600 NE Alberta Street
Portland, Oregon 97211
503-954-2354
www.greenbeanbookspdx.com

Mythobolus Assembly This Afternoon.

This afternoon Young Audiences stopped by to present Mythobolus

Trinity, Jesus and Victoree got to try on some masks.

We learned myths from Africa, Bali, China, Italy, Japan, Native America, South America, Viet Nam, Turkey and Estonia.

Twittering in Room 12

No, we don't have fancy smart phones or iPads . . . yet. We looped adding machine tape around the classroom. Making kind of a giant Twitter feed.











As I read from The Moon by Seymour Simon, kids wrote "tweets" or facts, that they were learning. When I turned the page they would shuffle the tape to their left and write more.








Everyone signed their "tweets" so we knew who was thinking what. Soon both sides of our twitter feed was full, before I had even finished reading the book.

Afterwords we went around and everyone read the tweets from others.

Congratulations to our Students of the Month!

Congratulations Adriana, Gabby and Maleke! Our January Students of the Month.

Congratulations Victoree! Our Learn for Life Student of the Week

I Am From Poems

We have been working on some really great poetry this month. We have it up outside our room.  You can also see it posted on the Student Writings Page at the top of the blog.

 

Little Monster by Hunter

Download now or watch on posterous

p104.mov (9438 KB)

Mad Science

Madame Chaos from PGE stopped by James John today and taught us about Renewable and Non Renewable Energy, smart and not-so-smart light bulbs, and what we can do to help us conserve energy in our homes.

Martin Luther King Day Today. (No School)

There is no school Monday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. See you all on Tuesday.

Happy Birthday Thea!

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Quite a few of us were able to show up and help Thea celebrate her birthday today. As you an see, it was a great time!

Lunch with Mr. L.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

On Fridays the table group with the most points gets to come up and eat lunch in the Room. Apparently, it's a very big deal.
Here is the St. Johns Bridge Table Group celebrating another win.

Congratulations Belen! Our Learn for Life Student of the Week.

Guys In Our Lives is Tonight @ 5:30!

Calling all Dads, Grandpas, Uncles, Brothers, and Mom's Boyfriend:
Bring your James John student to the school tonight. Free Pizza, games, and crafts.
At the James John Gym. Fun starts at 5:30

From New Pea

TIME for Kids

Every week here in Room 12, we read TIME for Kids.

We partner read all of the articles.

Then we fill out a quiz over what we read.

Afterward we talk about the articles and go over our answers.

LATE OPENING TODAY

Mr. Leach Is Still In 3rd Grade!: LATE OPENING TODAY: "Just a reminder that today is a two hour late opening. School starts at 10:00 Buses are running their routes two hours behind as well. Go..."

Father Daughter Duet

Keeping Our Teeth Clean

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Mr. Gidley from Multnomah County Health Dept. visited us today.
We learned:
• How to brush and floss correctly.
• The importance of taking fluoride tablets at school or at home. (Unlike most major US cities, Portland has no fluoride in it's water supply.)
• Dental Sealants protect us from getting cavities.

Through a partnership with Multnomah County Health Dept. your Third Grader is eligible for FREE dental sealants (applied at school) in the coming weeks.
Look for parent consent forms coming soon!

Eat. Pray. Teach.: The Debate over iPads in Education

Eat. Pray. Teach.: The Debate over iPads in Education: "This week (specifically on Jan. 4th, 2011), the NY Times came out with an article embracing the iPad called “Math Moves: Schools Embrace the..."

Congratulations Deondre! Learn for Life Student of the Week

Why Play?

Interesting article in today's New York Times on the importance of imaginative play for a healthy childhood.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/06/garden/06play.html

Thank You Orlando (& Family) for the Clorox Wipes!

Welcome Back

We had a great first day back from Winter Break. Half of the kids brought back their Holiday Homework Packet. Your Third Grader has until tomorrow to get it handed in to me for full credit. They will be coming home with this week's HW packet tomorrow.

Winter has settled in on us. We did go outside for morning and lunch recess. Please make sure your Third Grader is coming to school with coats, hats and gloves. The 15 day forecast looks nippy.
Walk to school day is this Wednesday. Be sure to check out all of the cool stuff coming up in January.
Stay warm,

Mr. L.

Monthly Focus for January: Reflection

Part of our school-wide Positive Behavior Support System is to focus on a positive behavioral trait throughout each month. Since it is the beginning of a new year, your 3rd grader will be thinking about things that they want to work on and do some goal setting. Be sure and ask them what goals they have set for themselves this year.